Fueling for Panamania

Sam and I just returned from a 10-day, 26-mile trek through the insanely beautiful Panamanian rain forests, beaches and headlands with one of our closest friends. It was, to say the least, a trip of a lifetime. We experienced fairy-tale like circumstances that circulated between The Jungle Book, Peter Pan and Cast Away (minus the Tom Hanks crazy), discovered the art of the salted rim on a perfect Chelada, sweated like mo-fos under 90+ degree weather and 100% humidity, and learned the many ways one can appreciate the kilt (don’t ask). Of course, waking up before the sun rose everyday (EVERY. DAY.) to embark on these treks left us insatiably hungry during the course of our trip, but being the Asian Martha Stewart that I am, I stocked us up with an arsenal of snacks that included dozens and dozens of power bars. We ended up needing every last morsel – I actually ate the last granola bar right before I boarded my flight back to LA.

Our stockpile of adventure snacks included the granola bars here as well as two date-based power bars. My dad said (via text) that they were the “bombest protein bars in existence” and I can’t decide if it makes me prouder to say that he conveyed his approval over text message or that he colloquially uses “bombest” as an adjective more often than I do. Nonetheless, his wise words attest to the greatness of the recipes that follow:

Place nuts, dates and cherries in a food processor and pulse until well ground. Pulse in vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and salt and remove mixture from food processor and press into an 8×8 baking dish. Refrigerate overnight (6-8 hours) and cut into squares and serve.

Line a 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, set aside. Place cashews in a food processor and process until nuts are evenly chopped, set aside. Put dried apricots in the food processor and process for 3-4 minutes to finely chop. Add coconut, oats, agave syrup, coconut oil, hemp seeds, ginger and salt. Process until mixture comes together. Add the chopped cashews and pulse until well combined.

Put the apricot coconut mixture in the parchment lined baking pan and firmly press into pan. Cover the bars and place in a freezer for one hour. Unmold bars, trim ends and cut into even rectangles. Bars will last up to one month if stored in an air tight container in the fridge.